Hose support



T. R. INMAN Sept. 9, 1969 HOSE SUPPORT Filed Jan. 26, 1967 INVENTOR. THOMAS H. l/VMAN ATTORNEY United States Patent M 3,465,756 HOSE SUPPORT Thomas R. Inman, Southampton, Mass., assignor to J. P. Stevens & Co., Inc., New York, N.Y., a corporation of Delaware Filed Jan. 26, 1967, Ser. No. 611,911 Int. Cl. A41c 9/04; A41b 11/04 U.S. Cl. 128-519 8 Claims ABSTRACT OF THE DISCLOSURE Background of the invention The field of the invention is a combination of foundation garments and garters for holding up stockings and a method of supporting stockings thereby.

In the past foundation garments have been used for supporting stockings, the original type involving one or more hose supporting grips held by the leg portion of the foundation garments and clamping into the stockings. This presented a number of serious problems: The hose supporters clamp into the stockings only at separated points, for example one or two; the clamps or grips present a problem of wear in stockings, starting of runs and the like; and because length of stockings may vary, as do the legs of the wearer of the foundation garment, it was often necessary to attach the hose grips to the foundation garments with elastic ribbon to permit different lengths of stockings and wearer legs, with the resulting problems presented by such elastic ribbon. The problems were so serious that often a separate hose supporter belt was used over a foundation garment or girdle.

A recent development provided foundation garments with external ridges at the bottom of the leg portion and elastic flaps with internal ridges which can be folded down after a stocking has been pulled up over the external ridges. A typical illustration of this development is represented by the Bjorn-Larsen Patent 3,253,599, May 31, 1966, and the present invention may be considered as an improvement on this type of foundation garment and stocking attachment method.

The foundation garments with external ridges on the leg portions and an elastic upper portion with internal ridges which can be pulled down over the stocking after the latter has been pulled up onto the lower end of the legs represented in one respect a very real advance over the use of hose grips or supporters. The support is uniform around the leg and stocking instead of attachment at one or more separated points, and there is less wear on the stocking top and less tendency to damage it or to start runs. However, the improved construction referred to above still leaves two problems. The major problem is that the point where the elastic flap attaches to the leg portion of the foundation garment is a fixed point on the foundation garment leg, and this point is not at a fixed distance above the wearers foot even with foundation garments of a particular size. Thus, for example, if the wearer is long-legged the flap is relatively high above the foot, and if the wearer is short-legged it is much nearer the foot. Also, the length of stockings, particularly womens stockings, may and does vary with different brands and different designs of stocking. Where a wearer Patented Sept. 9, 1969 with relatively short legs is wearing a fairly long stocking, the top of the stocking, after being pulled over the external ridges at the bottom of the foundation garment legs, would extend above the point where the flap with the internal ridges is attached to the foundation garment. As a result, some of the top of the stocking has to be folded down or bunched, which makes it less simple to fasten the stocking and may cause a protuberance which can show through thin outer garments, such as dresses, when the foundation garment is for a woman, which is the most important single field. Another problem which is not quite so serious is that when the stocking is pulled over the foundation garment and the flap stretched down over it, it is possible that the stocking may be pushed down somewhat, which can cause wrinkles. A more serious problem is presented where the bunched stocking is over the ridges, which results in poorer gripping.

Summary of the invention The present invention solves both of the above problems in a simple and effective manner. The legs of the foundation garment are provided with one or more external ridges, but there is no flap. The stocking is pulled up over the ridges on the foundation garment and can extend quite a considerable distance above them, which takes care of the situation of a relatively short-legged wearer with a relatively long stocking. Then an endless garter provided with similar internal ridges is pulled up over the stocking to the point where the ridges are located on the legs of the foundation garment or a garter is fastened around there in the case where it is provided with fasteners and is not endless.

All of the advantages of the clamping ridge type of support are achieved and the stocking is held perfectly regardless of its relative length as compared to the legs of the wearer. There is never any bunching up of a longer stocking on a short-legged wearer, and the second problem of the stocking being inadvertently pushed down some when a flap is folded over does not arise because in the case of an endless garter it is being pulled up the stocking and therefore holds it taut. In the case of a garter which is fastened, the fastening involves only a horizontal pull and there is no risk and no possibility of the stocking being moved down and wrinkling. In each case the garter grips only a single layer of stocking and grips uniformly around the leg.

The present invention, therefore, presents an improvement over the already considerable advance represented by the clamping ridge type of foundation garment and stocking. This is accomplished simply and cheaply because it is as cheap, or in many cases cheaper, to have a separate garter than to provide flaps which must be attached part way up the legs of the foundation garment. Thus the present invention represents the fortunate situation that it is an improvement in producing better results without any additional cost and in fact in some cases with substantial economies.

It is desirable, though not absolutely essential, that the ridges on the legs of the foundation garment be soft, for example of rubber or some other elastomer, and in case of the cooperating garter, it is usually preferable that both the ridges and the garter construction itself be elastic. This is essential in the case of an endless garter, which has to be pulled up over the stocking and the wearers leg, and, while not so essential, is still desirable in the case of a garter which is in the form of a straight ribbon with fasteners at the ends. The invention is not limited to the use of any particular elastomer, and therefore this choice can be made from other considerations; for example, where cost is of importance often ridges and garters made of a fabric having rubber which will keep the cost down. On the other hand, where the somewhat greater cost of spandex is considered worthwhile, because of its greater resistance to perspiration and body oils, this can dictate its choice. The invention permits choosing the best materials for all circumstances, which gives it an additional flexibility and advantage.

Brief description of the drawings FIG. 1 is an elevation of a wearers thighs in a foundation garment, showing the external ridges only on the right leg and an endless belt garter attached on the left FIG. 2 is a section through the foundation garment ridges and stocking at the point 22 in FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is a similar cross-section along the line 33 of FIG. 1, showing garment, stocking and garter, and

FIG. 4 is an isometric view of a modified garter provided with fasteners.

Description of the preferred embodiments In FIG. 1 a foundation garment is shown at 1 on the wearers thigh, two stockings 2 are shown pulled up over the foundation garment from a portion of the wearers leg 3 up above external ridges 4 on the legs of the foundation garment. The ridges and stocking are best seen in FIG. 2. The ridges are made of elastomer, such as rubber, spandex, and the like, and may be continuous around the leg, as illustrated, or may be in a series of segments (not shown).

In use, the wearer first puts on the foundation garment 1, which may be an elastic girdle or any other fabric, depending on the wearers desires. The stockings are pulled up over the ridges 4 and then, as shown on the left leg in FIG. 1, garters with internal ridges 6 are pulled up over the stocking to the point where there are the external ridges 4. This clamps the stocking between the ridges, as can be best seen in FIG. 3.

If desired, the garter may be in the form of a single strip, illustrated in FIG. 4, with the internal ridges 6 and with hooks 7 and loops or eyes 8. Such a garter, of course, is wrapped around the stocking, foundation garment and wearers leg at the proper point and fastened. It will be noted that in this modification it is not necessary to pull a garter up over the stocking and the garter need not have as great stretch as in the case of the garter shown in FIGS. 1 and 3. On the other hand, the fastening in some cases is not as convenient as pulling up an endless garter. It is an advantage of the invention that either type of garter may be used as desired by the garment user.

It should be noted that the present invention requires a combination and co-action of both the foundation garment and the garter. Neither one alone will perform the function of the invention; and there is, therefore, a true combination even though the two elements entering into the combination, or three if we consider that the stocking is also an element, are not integral with the foundation garment. It will be seen that the present invention permits the use of a single length of foundation garment for wearers of long or short legs with long or short stockings. FIG.

' l'shows an extreme situation where a very short-legged wearer is wearing a very long stocking. Usually the amount by which the stocking is pulled up above the ridges 4 will not be as great, but the adaptability to a very large range of leg and stocking lengths is one of the important advantages of the invention.

I claim:

1. A hose supporting foundation garment comprising in combination,

(a) a garment having legs and torso portions with the leg portions having adjacent their lower ends at least one circumferential ridge on the outside only of the leg portions, and

(b) stretchable garter members cooperating with the ridges on the legs and being provided with at least one internal ridge whereby when stockings are pulled up over the ridges of the garment and the garter member in place, the stocking is held between the ridges of the garment and the garter.

2. A combination according to claim 1 in which the garter members are elastic endless garters capable of being pulled up over stockings on the wearers leg.

3. A combination according to claim 2 in which the garment degs and garter members are provided with a plurality of circumferential ridges.

4. A combination according to claim 1 in which the garter members are strips provided with fastening means at their ends.

5. A combination according to claim garter members have a plurality of ridges.

6. A combination according to claim ridges on garment and garter members elastomeric material.

7. A combination according to claim ridges on garment and garter members elastomeric material.

8. A combination according to claim ridges on garment and garter members elastomeric material.

4 in which the 1 in which the are of resilient 2 in which the are of resilient 3 in which the are of resilient References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 2,638,602 5/1953 Binkowitz 224U 2,671,904 3/1954 Stroh Z240 3,253,599 5/1966 Bjorn-Larsen l28528 FOREIGN PATENTS 132,652 6/1949 Australia.

ADELE M. EAGER, Primary Examiner U.S. C1. X.R. 

